The War of Black Days

by TheBrownBrony

Click

Pinkie settled into her perch, setting up her rifle and scanning the dark moor for movement. The tip of her tail was twitching and her hooves itched. There would be changelings tonight. Her muscles were tense under her pink coat and her back ached abominably. Sleep tugged at her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them close. She had to stay alert, had to keep up the fight, no matter what it cost her. The war had been hard on everypony. Most had lost loved ones, many had lost homes, and some had lost everything. Equestria was in hell and if the ponies didn’t resist, they died, without exception. Everypony had to do their part. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy- eventually even Pinkie took up arms for her home. She’d had trouble at first, couldn’t stomach the killing and wasn’t good with a gun or a sword. She had no head for the fighting either; once the bullets started flying, she broke. But Pinkie was good for more than just parties. She could find ponies, any ponies, anywhere. And then it was as simple as....

Click, the trigger whispered. Bang, the rifle spoke, she’d worked on instinct, shaken out of her thoughtlessness by the itching in her hooves turning to a sharp pain. She found her next target.. Click, Bang. No more changeling, and once more Click, Bang, no more changeling. Pinkie packed up her rifle with a practiced hoof, making sure each part was comfortably in the case before moving to her next position. Her new assignment may have been ten times easier than her last one, but she wasn’t happy about it. Her last high-profile target had been more than a month ago and covert ops was still flipping coins on who’d be next; meanwhile she’d been assigned to the defense of some farm town outside the capitol and she was getting twitchy. She felt a growl crawl into her throat as she started her ascent to the top of a rock cluster she’d marked as a perch earlier.There was a pony-slaughtering hoard of changelings on the march right now, and she was sitting on a rock, putting bullets in stragglers. She should’ve been taking out captains, generals, the bucking queen; she should’ve been making a difference! She took a deep breath and calmed herself. It wouldn’t be long before command knew where she was going; then she’d feel better. She reached her vantage point and looked out over the craggy moor on the south side of the town, spotting the changelings immediately, working their way over the brush. She set up her rifle and took aim. Click, Boom. Click, Boom. Click, Boom. Three more down, three legions to go, bit her post was safe for now. There would be no more changelings out tonight.It was something she knew, but she refused to let herself become careless. She packed up her rifle and changed positions again, watching the plains for any sign of movement.

The sun was just starting to rise when her radio came alive.

“Pinkie Pie,” the voice was fuzzy and broken, but clearly that of Two Buck, her sergeant, “you’re being relieved. Report back to base. Looks like HQ’s got another job for you.” A smile came on to Pinkie’s face for the first time in ages. Vacation was over.

Base was a rock walled building near the center of the town, two stories high and bristling with defenses. The desk sergeant stopped Pinkie at one hundred feet and ran a scan, making sure she wasn’t a changeling in disguise, then started with the normal run of questions. Security was tight these days, like it should be. Pinkie answered the questions as they came and the desk sergeant waved her in, but Pinkie ignored her, making a point of handing over her IDs and weapons before proceeding. It was her chosen Pattern. With enemies that can change shapes at will and magic to keep ponies from negating that power, a Pattern was important. Patterns were a good defense against infiltration and had stopped many would-be slaughters throughout the war, and everypony had a different pattern they had to do before they would be allowed into any military building, down to the lowest, backwater base.

This one for example. Local dispatch 407, lovingly known as Base, was as barren as the plains outside the town. No more than a handful of ponies were ever there at once, doing paperwork or relaxing on their off-shift. A few half-empty bookshelves took up a corner with old, soft couches set near, but Pinkie hadn’t seen anyone use them since Twilight had visited with Princess Celestia. On the other side of the room were a few cubicles, most containing sleeping ponies, but Pinkie ignored all of these and headed straight for the stairs on the back wall. The second floor was no more impressive than the first, but it was where most of the higher-ups kept offices. She went straight into Two Buck’s.

Two Buck was a grizzled old unicorn and a hard taskmaster, but things ran smoothly under him. He stood behind his desk, a cup of coffee floating next to him and an apple in his mouth, but what interested Pinkie was the sealed envelope splayed in front of him. He took a bite of the apple and nodded to her.

“Pinkie,” he said gruffly, little bits of apple flying out of his mouth.

“Sarge,” Pinkie replied, snapping off a quick salute and stepping nearer to the desk.
“It looks like HQ finally got somethin’ for ya.” Pinkie just nodded, her lips curved into a bitter smile. She hated herself a little, for being excited to kill someone, but it was her only way to make a difference in the war, her only way to keep her friends safe. Two Buck broke into her thoughts.
“I’m not gonna lie, kid. I liked having you here. You’re a damn fine soldier and one of the
best snipers I’ve ever seen. Ain’t no one gonna replace you once you’re gone. You remember that if you get tired of assassining.” Pinkie hated herself a little more for the pride those words instilled in her. ‘You’re a good killer,’ she’d just been told. Why would that make anyone proud? She wouldn’t burden Sarge with her thoughts though. She just said,

“Yessir, Sarge,” as she always did, ducking her head and adding a quiet, “thank you.”

The message had been simple enough, but promised something big. “...too important, must discuss in person...” And Pinkie was on the first train headed home. She was nervous though. Meeting in person was a big deal when it came to her. Usually all she got was a name and they let her do her work; when they had to speak in person....the last time had been the reason for her vacation. In her experience, meeting in person meant a high end target. A general usually, but she’d also been given changeling nobles, weapon caches, and...dangerous traitors. People whom Celestia and the other ponies in command couldn’t publically point to as turncoats for fear that too many ponies would lose heart. The last one had been Soarin.
The wonderbolts had been some of the best troops against the changelings. In the battle of Everfree, the eleven of them had maintained air superiority without any other backup. Nopony thought that any of them would side against equestria, but that’s what happened. Pinkie did her duty, brought Soarin down and made it look like some big accident.. All she’d had had to do was clip his wings and let him drop and suddenly every pony in the country wanted to take up arms in the name of their fallen hero. Pinkie laughed bitterly to herself. Fallen in every way. The train slowed to a halt and Pinkie departed, making her way immediately to HQ and the war room. Celestia was inside, sitting at the head of a table with a large map spread over it. Twilight sat beside her with Cadance and Luna across from them. Cadance wore full black, a sharp contrast with her white fur; Twilight had a more subtle band, like a shadowy scar, wrapped around her left front leg. It was a long mourning period, just like Shining Armor deserved. All of them looked up when Pinkie entered and the room filled with a cold silence.

“Come on, guys,” Pinkie said, forcing a fake smile onto her face, “spirits up. A smile may not be likely to win the war, but no pony can say that it won’t.” Twilight shook her head and looked away, so did Cadance and Luna. Only Celestia could meet Pinkie’s eyes.

“We have your assignment, Pinkie,” Celestia said, quiet despair heavy in her voice. Pinkie dropped the smile and got serious, even as her heart sank.

“Who is it?” She asked, dreading the answer. Celestia dropped a dossier onto the table, pictures spilled out. Mare, roughly her age, blue fur...rainbow mane. Tears welled up in Pinkie’s eyes.

“Dashy?” she choked out. “Do we know why?” Celestia hesitated and looked for some reassurance in the other gathered ponies. She found none.

“She found out about Soarin,” she whispered, “about what he did and...and how he died.” Pinkie swallowed, trying to force the lump in her throat away, but it wouldn’t budge.

“What...” Pinkie took a deep breath, “What did she do? What’s our proof?”

“She killed the rest of the wonderbolts, Pinkie,” Twilight spoke this time, her voice wavering dangerously. “She admitted to it in front of more than a dozen ponies.”

“This is damage control, Pinkie,” Celestia told her. “We can’t let anyone else find out about this.” The room fell silent. An eternity later, Celestia continued.“You can refuse, Pinkie. You have the right.” Pinkie shook her head.

“No, I can’t put this on anypony else.”

“Will you be able to, Pinkie?” Twilight asked. “I know that Soarin was hard for you, will you be able to...” her voice trailed off. She couldn’t say it. Pinkie nodded and forced the words out.

“I can do it. I can kill Rainbow Dash.” She gathered the dossier and left the room; her business there was done. After a couple minutes of slow walking, she heard hoofsteps behind her.

“I’ll be fine, Twilight,” Pinkie said without turning around.

“I don’t know if you can be certain about that, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “Dash isn’t just another pony. You know her; she’s your friend,”

“The wonderbolts were my friends too, Twilight. I know everypony and they’re all my friends. I wouldn’t have any way to help if I couldn’t set that aside. Keeping one friend alive, isn’t worth losing the rest of them.”

“But-”

“No, Twilight, no buts. I’ll do what I have to.” She said no more; Twilight was left alone in the hallway, grieving the loss of two more friends.

Dash was easy to find. She wasn’t trying to hide her presence. She wanted everypony to know that she’d defected, and Pinkie caught up quickly, like she always did. Dash was resting on the top of a mountain. She’d established air superiority for the changelings and now was just sitting back and watching the chaos unfold. Pinkie came up behind her. It wouldn’t have been hard at all to put a bullet in her. It would have been quick and painless, for Dash at least. But Dashy deserved better than that, she deserved a chance. Pinkie sat next to her, evoking a little gasp of astonishment from the pegasus.

“Pinkie Pie? What are you doing here?” Dash asked urgently, fear rooted deeply in her voice.

“Celestia sent me,” Pinkie told her stonily. There was a moment of tense silence, then,

“And?”

“I don’t want to kill you, Dashy,” Pinkie told her.

“Just like you didn’t want to kill Soarin?” Dash’s words came out harsh and bitter. Pinkie just nodded.

“So you’d do it then? You’d kill your best friend because some bitch who happened to be born with both a horn and wings told you to?”

“Not if I don’t have to, Dashy. If you leave, if you hide, if you stay out of the war; I can tell Celestia the job is done. No more ponies have to be hurt, Dashy.” Dash dropped her head with a sad resolution and leapt lightly into the air.

“You have to, Pinkie.” Dash didn’t hurry away. It almost seemed like she wanted Pinkie to shoot her down, wanted all of the pain to end. But Pinkie couldn’t do it, not like that. She watched the pegasus fly away. The battle raging below the mountain suddenly seemed a distant and minor problem.

Three more times, Pinkie caught up with Dash. Three times Pinkie’s rifle remained silent and she left, sadness and guilt weighing her down. Ponies were dying, and those that weren’t were losing heart. They needed a win, something, anything to show them that they still had some power. Pinkie realized this and still she couldn’t bring down her friend. She lacked the resolution. Only at her last battle did she see the full effect of what she’d failed to do.

The changelings had advanced into the heart of Equestria, coming once more to the Everfree forest. The ponies knew what was at stake and fought hard. Pegasi flooded the skies like parasprites, fighting the changelings tooth and hoof, never giving an inch. Pinkie sat in a nest she’d set up on the top of a few trees, covered in camouflage. She watched the skies carefully for Rainbow Dash, hoping to the heavens that her friend wouldn’t show up. She fought while she waited. Click, Boom. Click, Boom. Click, Boom. Click, Boom. Changelings fell from the sky like rain. No bullet wasted. Click, Boom. Click, Boom. Two more ponies saved. Click, Boom. One more friend left alive. Then something happened. The changelings fell to the ground, retreating. The pegasi thought they’d won, but something was wrong. Pinkie’s neck itched, her hooves shook, and her ears fell back. Her eyes came wide with realization. She broke cover, shouting as loud as she could for the pegasi to come down. to abandon the skies before it was too late They couldn’t hear her. She fired shots into the air, trying to get their attention. Then it came. An earth-shaking explosion that nearly took Pinkie from her perch. The pegasi stopped cheering, looking around in confusion. Pinkie looked to the horizon and saw exactly what she knew she would. A rainbow shockwave tearing through the sky like a scythe. The pegasi didn’t have time to react; it overtook them and they fell, every last one of them. Dropping to the ground like hailstones. Some died on impact, they were the lucky ones. There wasn’t a creature left in the sky when the rainboom had passed, but that didn’t last long. The changelings crept out one-by-one from their hiding places, flapping their grotesque, chitonous wings. The tide turned. Changelings tore at the pony ranks from above and blocked any chance of escape. Pinkie couldn’t look away, couldn’t take her eyes off of the carnage. She wasn’t at the top of the mountain this time; every scream every drop of blood was crystal clear to her. She shot like a demon, trying to save her friends, but nothing could help them now. Pinkie had known anger before, and she’d known loss. She’d known pain both physical and emotional. But not until that day, not until she watched loyal ponies trapped and butchered because of her failure to act, had she any notion of hate. The records for the Second battle of Everfree list only one survivor, but Pinkie knew better. No pony came out of something like that alive.

Pinkie abandoned her post that day. She knew Rainbow Dash was out there, and she was going to find her. She followed her instincts, knowing that they would be the best tool in finding Dash. Hours wandered by as she walked, hiding occasionally to avoid Changeling patrols, but never resting. The forest pulled at her from every direction. Her bouncy hair went flat and her coat became dull. She didn’t care. She had other things on her mind. She came to the place just as the sun began to set.

The ruins of Ponyville were no less depressing than the day Pinkie had watched them burn. Twilight’s library was nothing more than a patch of blackened earth. Fluttershy’s cottage was as butchered as the animals she’d harbored. And the bakery was as sullen and unfitting a grave as one could find for the Cakes. Pinkie’s heart grew colder when she spotted Dash, reclining in what remained of the tower that used to be the very top of Pinkie’s own home. The Pegasus was sleeping, her conscience no harder a pillow than ever. Pinkie took the time she wanted to set up, Dash wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon and Pinkie wanted a special party to send her friend out with..

Click, Boom. A shot rang out through the night. The crows that had been nesting in the burned out buildings flew away and Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. She could see nothing.

“Pinkie?” She called out, trying to keep her voice from trembling. “Is that you?” Click, Boom. The shot went straight through the bell to Dash’s left, its calming ring replaced by a piercing shriek. Dash took to the air. “Pinkie, you don’t have to do this. Don’t let Celestia use you, Pinkie!” Another click, but closer this time. A net sprang forth from the darkness, snaring Rainbow Dash like a rabbit in a hunter’s trap. “Pinkie, please! You couldn’t kill me! I’m your friend! You have to feel something! Pinkie!”
Dash was wrong.
The war had been hard on everypony. Most had lost loved ones, many had lost homes, and some had lost everything. Equestria was in hell and if the ponies didn’t resist, they died. Without exception. Click.

Comments

[MrBossMan]

Might want to switch that in the description with "love for friend or loyalty for country."

[GAPDashie]

Hmm... Interesting.
As Element of Loyalty, it does seem plausible that Dash would break and flip after Soarin's death. My only thought is that, based on RD and Pinkie's first conversation, along with Rainbow having a strong connection to both camps, Dash would be so torn up by the end that she would be more likely to simply stand up and take the bullet rather than try to escape. I believe you could draw out the tension and Pinkie's inner rage farther this way as well; however, just an opinion.
*insert Simon Cowell emote here*
Side note; I like the recurring theme of "Click, Bang." Shows a colder, more calculated side of Pinkie Pie that we only see a couple times in the show.

[Pale Sky]

Job well done

[TheBrownBrony]

Thanks for the advice. =) I'll fix the description quick. The insight into RD is also a good one. I'm not actually a big brony, right now I'm mostly just using them as a basis for writing, so my characters aren't always the most accurate. It's good for me to get insight as far as this, thanks again!

[xZFluttershyZx]

...more?

[TheBrownBrony]

Hi! I'm back! Sorta....
The story:
So, how it goes is this. I started writing closer to the beginning of the school year, right? And wrote Click (thanks for the comments and support!). It was good. I started writing more a bit later. But you see, I'm a theater kid. And a choir kid. I'm president of my writers' club (You'd think this wouldn't be a hindrance; you'd be surprised). I'm part of a touring jazz choir. I take a full load of classes (half advanced placement). And I participate in various contests throughout the year. Add this to college prep and you end up with a person who has no time whatsoever! Hooray! <-Not really. At any rate, I wrote most of this in a free weekend that I had sometime around Christmas. Then my thought was "I'll totally edit this!" And then months past. I edited a little bit and finally actually finished the story to the ending now posted. Hooray! <-Really. But then I was like, "I can totally add more to this! Make it deeper! Try to achieve something with a little more weight, right? Yeah! That'll be awesome!" More months of waiting. Then I was like, "Y'know what, I'll just post it!" But then I was like, "No! It isn't good enough! The people who take their time to read my stuff deserve better!" And that leads to now, when I've decided that you deserve more than nothing and thus get this. I'm sorry, it's not my most polished work, but I really do hope you enjoy it. I'll try and /actually/ write more when summer rolls around. 'Til then, thanks for reading!

[Uranium Plastic Cup]

Huh, found this story bookmarked on my iphone. Not bad.